Matthew Wood is having a great rookie year for the Nashville Predators
Former first-round draft pick by the Predators in 2023, Matthew Wood has wasted little time becoming a vital piece to the franchise's forward group.
Wood has been skating with loads of confidence like a seasoned veteran and is already up to eight goals and six assists. That puts him among several rookies at the edge of the top-10 among rookie points leaders. He's just three goals behind the rookie leader in goals.
The Predators have always had a bad reputations when it comes to developing homegrown forwards. Evangelista is beginning to break that curse, and the organization is optimisitc that Wood is following the same path.
There is a lot to love about Wood's early showing in the NHL. He's finding ways to get good shots on net and is one of just three regular forwards in the lineup that doesn't have a negative plus/minus rating. He has 51 shots on net and boasting an efficient 15.7 percent shooting percentage.
Wood appeared in six games last season and showed some promise then, but it was a small sample size and he dealt with an injury early this season. We weren't sure how that would put a damper on his development, but he hasn't missed a beat. I'm interested to see how he rounds out his rookie campaign.